A couple of years ago, director Peter Jackson certainly found himself with a vast landscape of work ahead of him. The New Zeland-based director, long a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, decided to take on the "Lord of the Rings" in three epic-length pictures, which would all be filmed back-to-back. New Line, a studio known for taking risks in the past would be taking their biggest one here, as all three films would cost north of 300 million dollars combined. Jackson, whose films have been cult favorites, had never previously proven himself capable of handling such an enormous budget. Still, early trailers forshadowed the kind of work that the director was able to accomplish and, when released, the picture seemed to largely satisfy most of the legions of die-hard fans as well as the studio (the picture was nominated for 13 Academy Awards).

The film begins fairly quietly and with little rush. We are introduced to Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) and his nephew, Frodo (Elijah Wood). At Bilbo's birthday party, we are also introduced to Gandalf (Ian McKellan), a wizard and one of the more important characters in the story. After the party, Bilbo exits and leaves Frodo, among other things, a magical ring. The only problem: it's the legendary Ring, forged by the dark lord Sauron. If the Ring is returned to Sauron, the world of Middle Earth will fall into darkness and war. The journey to destroy the ring will not be an easy one: Sauron's legions are already racing towards Frodo when the ring falls into his grasp.

Thankfully for Frodo, he's not alone in his quest: Gandalf, hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd), humans Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean), dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) come together to guide him across countryside and caves, including one incredible stretch through the mines of Moria that is certainly, in my opinion, the film's most engaging and tense sequence.

I find a lot to discuss about what I enjoyed in "Fellowship of the Ring" and what I did not. For starters, after a marvelous prologue, the Birthday party sequence starts to become overlong and does not provide enough of the kind of character detail important before the characters begin their journey. In fact, I felt similarly about some of the rest stops along the way: Jackson's intense action sequences are so delightful and dizzying that the slower moments left me anticipating the next battle a bit too heavily. The film's structure of action/rest, action/rest also starts to make the pace, in my opinion, a bit too stop/start. Oddly enough, I felt this was actually less of a problem the second time around, as the movie seemed to flow more smoothly for me during the second viewing.

The performances are generally quite excellent. Wood is about as good as could be expected playing the character, but McKellen's Gandalf consistently manages to be a scene-stealer in a dynamic performance that's capable of both a sly laugh and immense power. Liv Tyler, whose role as Arwen came under much debate, also manages to make a solid impression in a small role. Also providing solid support are Cate Blanchett, Mortensen, Rhys-Davies, and Bloom.

Technically, the film is stunning. Whatever money was saved from shooting in New Zealand has obviously gone back into the production in some other aspect. In addition, New Zealand was an absolutely marvelous choice for locations, providing an almost impossibly gorgeous countryside. As for special effects, I appreciated the fact that the film does not heavily use CGI, only putting visual effects to use when necessary (mainly during the action sequences) and doing so well. This is certainly pleasing after watching the latest "Star Wars" films; while basically entertaining, those films have started to diminish their dramatic impact at times due to overuse of CGI and not relying on actors enough.

Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who previously worked on both "Babe" films, captures the scope of the universe that has been created wonderfully. His work here earned him an Oscar and he will also be the cinematographer on both sequels. Equally outstanding is Howard Shore's often-brilliant score, offering the kind of strength, emotion and majesty that is needed in a film like this one. Also certainly of note are several other top-notch aspects: impressive and highly detailed production design, excellent set decoration, good make-up and solid costume work. David Farmer, whose previous credits include "Armageddon" and "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within", has also crafted breathtaking sound design, essential in a film like this one. Last, but not least, the editing is also excellent, especially during the action scenes.

Again, Jackson hits the film's finest notes within the mine sequence. Not only does it contain a thrilling battle sequence, but even during its quieter, early moments, the sequence contains such wonderfully creepy atmosphere that the viewer really does feel as if creatures are awaiting in the shadows. I enjoyed Jackson's film, moreso the second time around. While I still do not feel it's without some concerns (I still feel the picture could have been tightened from its nearly 3-hour length), it's a good start to what promises to be an amazing trilogy.